The Human Registry Official Slays the Dragon, the Spirit Pearl Stirs the Sea (Third Update)

In the main hall, the century-old scent of aged sandalwood mingled with freshly lit mugwort, hanging thick in the air.

Ye Lanzen sat upright in a Grandmaster Chair. On the table before him lay the old Turtle Shell used to divine Fate Patterns.

No one knew how old the shell was. Its edges held a jade-like luster, and the patterns across its back resembled mountains and rivers formed by nature itself, steeped in ancient weight.

Beside it lay several aged Yarrow Stalks and a copper tray for catching ash.

The room was silent. His disciples held their breath, eyes fixed on the table.

Ye Lanzen did not begin at once. He raised his gaze, and his seemingly clouded eyes, sharp beneath the surface, rested on Qin Geng for a moment.

"Xiao Wu."

Ye Lanzen spoke evenly, with the clear-eyed wisdom of an elder. "Among the Three Teachings and Nine Schools, fortune-tellers observe three rules about whom not to divine for. Not the elderly, for their sun is setting and their fate is nearly spent. Not children, for their lives may be too frail to bear the weight of a reading. And not the insincere, for without sincerity, the divine reveals nothing."

"We aren't street-corner fortune-tellers, but the reasoning behind those rules still holds."

Ye Lanzen extended a thin finger and tapped the Turtle Shell. It gave two crisp knocks.

"I'll tell you one thing today. As the old saying goes, the more you divine your fate, the thinner it grows."

"Why? Because once a person bows to fate and starts believing in that nonsense, he's pulled out his own backbone. Unable to fight his way forward, he pins all his hopes on some vague, elusive Fate Pattern."

"I told you the other day: Fate Patterns chase people. People don't carry